To Florence con Amore: 90 ways to love the city

JANE FORTUNE

TO FLORENCE CON AMORE 90 WAYS TO LOVE THE CITY

The Florentine Press

A CLASSIC

Cover and book design: Marco Badiani, flod.it Layout: Leo Cardini, flod.it Concept and editing: Linda Falcone, for The Florentine Press Copyediting and proofreading: Cheryl Pappas Cover: View From the Terrace, 2004, Jane Fortune ISBN 978-88-902434-8-6 1º edizione: dicembre 2007 2007 B’Gruppo srl, Prato Collana The Florentine Press Riproduzione vietata 2° edizione Maggio 2011 Tutti i diritti riservati © Jane Fortune No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

To the reader: the information about museum schedules and entrance fees, restaurant schedules and menus contained here is subject to change and should be used as a guideline only. Please call or check the appropriate Web sites for up-to-date information.

tableof contents ONE UNIQUE CITY TWO ESSENTIAL THEMES 1 The Annunciation 2 ‘Last’ words THREE EXTRAORDINARY SCHOOLS OF ART 3 The crucifix attributed to Michelangelo 4 Pontormo’s Deposition of Christ 5 Caravaggio’s Bacco FOUR HISTORIC THEATERS 6 Teatro della Pergola 7 Teatro Comunale 8 Teatro Goldoni 9 Teatro Verdi FIVE FAMED TOURS 10 Palazzo Vecchio 11 The Vasari Corridor 12 Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore 13 Museo Nazionale del Bargello 14 Casa Buonarroti SIX MUST-READS 15 The City of Florence 16 Florence: A Portrait 17 Galileo’s Daughter 18 Death of an Englishman 19 Brunelleschi’s Dome 20 The Stones of Florence SEVEN CULTURAL GEMS 21 Orsanmichele 22 Museo Nazionale Alinari della Fotografia (MNAF) 23 Gabinetto Disegni e Stampe degli Uffizi 24 Antico Setificio Fiorentino 25 The tabernacles of Florence 26 Museo Stibbert 27 Palazzo Pitti EIGHT PLACES TO SEE FRESCOES 28 Palazzo Vecchio 29 Santa Maria Novella 30 Chiesa Santa Trinita 31 The Duomo 32 Oratorio of San Martino del Vescovo 33 Convento di Santa Maria Maddalena dei Pazzi 34 Chiostrino dei Voti in Chiesa Santissima Annunziata 35 Loggia del Bigallo

NINE PLACES THAT SOOTHE THE SOUL 36 Cappella dei Magi 37 Cappella Brancacci 38 Chiostro dello Scalzo 39 Chiesa di Santa Croce 40 Cappella della Confraternita di San Luca and the Chiostro dei Morti 41 San Miniato al Monte 42 Chiesa La Badia Fiorentina 43 Chiesa di Santa Maria Novella 44 Refettorio di San Marco TEN TREASURES 45 Casa Guidi 46 Museo Marino Marini 47 Spedale degli Innocenti 48 Opificio delle Pietre Dure 49 Museo di San Marco 50 Museo Egizio 51 La Specola 52 Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana 53 Il Giardino dei Boboli 54 Officina Profumo-farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella ELEVEN PLACES WORTH THE JOURNEY 55 The Visitation by Jacopo Pontormo 56 Frescoes by Fernando Botero 57 The Tarot Garden by Niki de Saint-Phalle 58 Deposition from the Cross by Rosso Fiorentino 59 La Foce 60 Virgin Annunciate by Antonello da Messina 61 Centro per l’Arte Contemporanea ‘Luigi Pecci’ 62 Basilica di San Vitale 63 Abbazia di Sant’Antimo 64 Il Giardino di Daniel Spoerri 65 The Pregnant Madonna by Piero della Francesca TWELVE TASTES OF TUSCANY 66 Trattoria Pandemonio 67 Ristorante dei Fagioli 68 Trattoria Garga 69 Ristorante La Maremma 70 Zibibbo 71 Trattoria I Quattro Leoni 72 Ristorante Paoli 73 Trattoria Sabatino 74 Trattoria Armando 75 Ristorante I’ Che C’è C’è 76 Ristorante Da Delfina 77 Harry’s Bar THIRTEEN WAYS TO SPEND AN AFTERNOON 78 Sampling a ‘Medici’ dessert 79 Cooking up a storm 80 Biblioteca delle Oblate 81 An afternoon with ‘il Porcellino’ 82 Around a Florentine table 83 Exploring Stefano Bardini’s treasures 84 Palazzo Strozzi 85 The Accademia’s lady: Discovering the gallery’s sole woman artist 86 Dante: The supreme florentine poet 87 Art by women artists in Florence Museums 88 Crossing over 89 Sumptuous Florentine house museums 90 Florence from on high

MORE MUST-READS / ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS / PHOTO CREDITS

39 Chiesa di Santa Croce Piazza Santa Croce tel. 055/2466105 Monday through Saturday, 9:30am to 5:30pm; Sunday, 1pm to 5:30pm Admission: 5 euro

Santa Croce, Florence’s ‘Pantheon’ and my favorite church in the city, contains 270 tombstones that pave the floor of the church, honoring those who have strongly affected the course of history in the fields of art, history and music. Its most famous tomb belongs to Michelangelo, followed by those of Machiavelli, Galileo, Bruni, Rossini, Ghiberti and Marconi. The largest Franciscan church in existence, Santa Croce was founded in 1294 to replace a smaller church built in 1222.

39 of 90 ways to love Florence

Completed in 1415, its sense of space, austerity and purity are awe-inspiring. The church hosts one of the most famous fresco cycles by Giotto, considered the founder of Western painting. These frescoes were white-washed by Vasari in the sixteenth century, when he remodeled the church; they were later repainted in the 1950s.

After other interventions, the repainting was removed, which left the unattractive blank spaces seen on the frescoes today.

Other great works of art include Donatello’s priceless masterpiece, The Annunciation (1435), an exquisite gilded limestone high relief, which expresses a quiet intimacy of emotions; and his crucifix, located in the poorly lit Bardi di Vernio Chapel. The work was described as ‘just a peasant on the cross’ by Brunelleschi, who later carved his own crucifix, in wood, to show Donatello how Christ should look—dignified and noble.

It is interesting to compare the two: Brunelleschi’s crucifix is in Santa Maria Novella’s Gondi Chapel. Bronzino’s Pietà is also a noteworthy painting, and to the left of the entrance you can find playwright Giovanni Nicolini’s memorial, which is said to be the source that inspired the Statue of Liberty.

Any guidebook can take you through the Church of Santa Croce, but I suggest that you take the time to simply stand inside the church and take in the aristocratic beauty. It is truly a magical and mystical experience that leaves one breathless.

Jane’s notes: Here’s a little-known, wonderful fact I discovered

after reading Dava Sobel’s book Galileo’s Daughter. Galileo was originally buried in 1642 at the Novitate Chapel in Santa Croce, under the campanile. He was not allowed a Christian burial inside the church for having asserted that the Earth revolved around the sun—an affirmation for which he was excommunicated. Ninetyfive years later, in 1737, his body was moved to a marble sarcophagus inside Santa Croce. His tomb is located directly across from Michelangelo’s monument, for ‘it was believed that Michelangelo’s spirit leapt into Galileo’s body between the former’s death and the latter’s birth’. (Galileo died on the day Michelangelo was born.)

Galileo’s original tomb was to have three standing female forms representing astronomy, geometry and philosophy. The last of the three was eliminated, but there is a third female inside the tomb, invisible to the observer. Historians were aware that Viviani, his pupil, was buried with him, yet when Galileo’s body was moved, a third coffin was discovered. Although there is no historical documentation noting it, Galileo’s daughter Suor Maria Celeste had been buried there as well. It seems that Viviani gave Galileo the best gift he could by making sure his daughter was buried beside him.

By the way, it wasn’t until 1992 that the pope revoked the condemnation that the Church had imposed upon Galileo in 1633!